School of Nursing Scores a Perfect Exam Pass Rate

The Virginia Board of Nursing recently issued its second quarter statistics for nursing licensure exam pass rates this year, and Mason scored a perfect 100 percent, with all 33 Mason nursing students who took the exam passing.

This brings the total number to 39 students passing so far this year.

The report showed the pass rate for other Virginia nursing schools this quarter as follows:

According to Carol Urban, assistant dean for the undergraduate nursing program, Mason’s School of Nursing stepped up its game three years ago when it made its admission requirements more competitive through a “holistic approach.”

“We now consider overall GPA, GPA in nursing prerequisites and GPA in the sciences they take. We also consider the score on the HESI-A2 pre-nursing entry test, which tests basic knowledge of those sciences, reading comprehension and application and algebra-level math,” says Urban. “We ask the students to submit a resume and answer two short essay questions in order to get to know them better personally.”

The School of Nursing also created two coordinator positions. Odette Willis currently serves as the coordinator for academic excellence and Margaret Moss is the coordinator for clinical excellence. Willis works to ensure that students are placed in the best possible learning environment while Moss mentors Mason’s adjunct clinical faculty.

“What sets us apart is our undergraduate faculty’s love of teaching, wealth of experience, knowledge of the diversity in our area and enthusiasm for helping our students to succeed,” says Urban. “We all celebrate each time a graduate calls and says, ‘I passed!’”